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CNN Live Today

Baghdad Has 'Hangover'

Aired April 10, 2003 - 10:05   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to go to Baghdad right now so we can catch up with Walt Rogers once again who has been following some of these fast-breaking developments.
Walt, we just stole a line from your previous report where you described the city as being pretty much like a city in a hangover this morning -- good morning.

WALTER RODGERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Paula. That's true, indeed, the city seems to be trying to come to grips with reality. Yesterday was pure exuberance, and as you pointed out, widespread looting. There is small-scale looting today, but I think perhaps small scale because there is not that much left to be stolen. What was not nailed down was taken. We did see a horse taken today. That takes the prize for best looting accomplishment.

Having said that, I was out talking to the Iraqi citizens today, asking them what they want, and almost to the man and to the woman, they say they want a restoration of law and order, some sort of police power, and there is this uncertainty about their future.

As I've been pointing out, like other Arab countries, half the population in Iraq is below 16 years of age. They've never known anything other than Saddam Hussein. So, it's natural they look to the future with some fear, even if it means a fear of no longer having Saddam there. What they most fear is the return of another despot, a tyrant, one Iraqi told me here in Baghdad that the last thing they want is another oil thief. The Baghdad citizens see Saddam Hussein as someone who plundered their natural resources, misspent them horribly unwisely on the Iran-Iraq war, then the war with Kuwait, and plundered the natural resources of this country. This is a rich country of many cultured people. They would like to see some semblance of self- government instituted here, and they're not all that optimistic. I asked one man what he thought the future would be, he said maybe good, maybe bad. That's very Islamic, very Muslim, very Arabic but that's the way they're looking at things -- Paula.

ZAHN: Well, what have they told you about supplies that they have on hand -- food, water, city services?

RODGERS: I know what the international aid agencies are saying, that there's a crisis brewing here, but I haven't met a single Iraqi -- and I like to go out and walk the streets and talk to people. I am a beat reporter. And everyone says we've got food. Ample food? Yes, ample food. I say, Plenty of food? And they start grinning and say, Don't worry, we stockpiled food. I said what about water? That's a little dodgier, but they do have water. Again, the greatest shortages -- no telephones. There are Iraqis here with family in the United States. They ask us -- they give me phone numbers. Please call my family in Chicago. Please call my family in Los Angeles. Let them know we're OK. We do that. Again, they also have no electricity, so the infrastructure is down. I suspect because the U.S. did not target infrastructure, it can come back up again very quickly. But again, before you can establish a civil government here, you have to quash and put down the fighting units, the remnants of the Fedayeen, and they're still around the city shooting. We've heard them all day, and we came pretty close to being under a little fire as we crossed one of the Tigris River bridges -- Paula.

ZAHN: The other thing, Walt, I want to ask you, I don't know whether you've heard this or not, but the administration announced that the president is going to -- he videotaped a message that I guess will be broadcast at 6:00 p.m. Baghdad time tonight, and there's talk of two newscasts a day that will be fed to the Iraqi people. Just based on the reaction you've heard on the street, how much traction do you think the message of the administration will get there?

RODGERS: I think the Iraqi people will be interested because remember, they haven't seen that sort of thing before. But the best thing the United States could do for the Iraqis, and it's not feasible yet, is to get those tanks out of here. The Iraqis try to drive down the streets of their own capital, Baghdad, and they get turned back at a military checkpoint. The military can't let them through. It might be a suicide bomber, but the Iraqis can't drive around their own city, and the Iraqis do not feel secure as long as they see U.S. Marine tanks, U.S. Army tanks on the capital of their city, because they know that while the tanks may not shoot at the daytime, the guerrillas, the Fedayeen come in at night, they take pot shots at the U.S. tanks. The tanks shoot back out again at night, and that means it is not safe on these streets at night because of the continuing sporadic fire fights -- Paula.

ZAHN: Walt Rodgers, we are going to leave it there for now.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired April 10, 2003 - 10:05   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to go to Baghdad right now so we can catch up with Walt Rogers once again who has been following some of these fast-breaking developments.
Walt, we just stole a line from your previous report where you described the city as being pretty much like a city in a hangover this morning -- good morning.

WALTER RODGERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Paula. That's true, indeed, the city seems to be trying to come to grips with reality. Yesterday was pure exuberance, and as you pointed out, widespread looting. There is small-scale looting today, but I think perhaps small scale because there is not that much left to be stolen. What was not nailed down was taken. We did see a horse taken today. That takes the prize for best looting accomplishment.

Having said that, I was out talking to the Iraqi citizens today, asking them what they want, and almost to the man and to the woman, they say they want a restoration of law and order, some sort of police power, and there is this uncertainty about their future.

As I've been pointing out, like other Arab countries, half the population in Iraq is below 16 years of age. They've never known anything other than Saddam Hussein. So, it's natural they look to the future with some fear, even if it means a fear of no longer having Saddam there. What they most fear is the return of another despot, a tyrant, one Iraqi told me here in Baghdad that the last thing they want is another oil thief. The Baghdad citizens see Saddam Hussein as someone who plundered their natural resources, misspent them horribly unwisely on the Iran-Iraq war, then the war with Kuwait, and plundered the natural resources of this country. This is a rich country of many cultured people. They would like to see some semblance of self- government instituted here, and they're not all that optimistic. I asked one man what he thought the future would be, he said maybe good, maybe bad. That's very Islamic, very Muslim, very Arabic but that's the way they're looking at things -- Paula.

ZAHN: Well, what have they told you about supplies that they have on hand -- food, water, city services?

RODGERS: I know what the international aid agencies are saying, that there's a crisis brewing here, but I haven't met a single Iraqi -- and I like to go out and walk the streets and talk to people. I am a beat reporter. And everyone says we've got food. Ample food? Yes, ample food. I say, Plenty of food? And they start grinning and say, Don't worry, we stockpiled food. I said what about water? That's a little dodgier, but they do have water. Again, the greatest shortages -- no telephones. There are Iraqis here with family in the United States. They ask us -- they give me phone numbers. Please call my family in Chicago. Please call my family in Los Angeles. Let them know we're OK. We do that. Again, they also have no electricity, so the infrastructure is down. I suspect because the U.S. did not target infrastructure, it can come back up again very quickly. But again, before you can establish a civil government here, you have to quash and put down the fighting units, the remnants of the Fedayeen, and they're still around the city shooting. We've heard them all day, and we came pretty close to being under a little fire as we crossed one of the Tigris River bridges -- Paula.

ZAHN: The other thing, Walt, I want to ask you, I don't know whether you've heard this or not, but the administration announced that the president is going to -- he videotaped a message that I guess will be broadcast at 6:00 p.m. Baghdad time tonight, and there's talk of two newscasts a day that will be fed to the Iraqi people. Just based on the reaction you've heard on the street, how much traction do you think the message of the administration will get there?

RODGERS: I think the Iraqi people will be interested because remember, they haven't seen that sort of thing before. But the best thing the United States could do for the Iraqis, and it's not feasible yet, is to get those tanks out of here. The Iraqis try to drive down the streets of their own capital, Baghdad, and they get turned back at a military checkpoint. The military can't let them through. It might be a suicide bomber, but the Iraqis can't drive around their own city, and the Iraqis do not feel secure as long as they see U.S. Marine tanks, U.S. Army tanks on the capital of their city, because they know that while the tanks may not shoot at the daytime, the guerrillas, the Fedayeen come in at night, they take pot shots at the U.S. tanks. The tanks shoot back out again at night, and that means it is not safe on these streets at night because of the continuing sporadic fire fights -- Paula.

ZAHN: Walt Rodgers, we are going to leave it there for now.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com